Matched

by Ally Condie

As you know, I'm a fan of young adult fiction... The authors build entire fantasy worlds with boundless imagination that is often lacking in adult writing. Matched begins in a future world, where everything is controlled by the Society in order to build a better society - your job, your activities, your choice of mate... Our story opens when Cassia learns that her match is her lifelong friend (and all around good guy), Xander. But she is shown another possible match when the face of Ky appears on the screen. Although she's told it is simply a mistake, this event calls into question everything that she accepts about the Society and her life. As she gets to know Ky more, this questioning turns into rebellion.

While Matched is an entertaining read for fans of the genre, it falls short of other popular, current dystopian novels (The Hunger Games, Divergent) for one reason: lack of character complexity. The characters in this first book of the series are underdeveloped, and while I have hope for stronger character building in the upcoming sequels - it is sadly missing here. For the majority of the book, Xander is portrayed as a bland, good, obedient guy that everyone likes. Ky is the rebel boy who learned too much at an early age. Xander is simply too likable for the reader to support the relationship that begins between Cassia & Ky. Instead, you just feel sorry for Xander, and Cassia appears cruel in her dismissal of him at times. The ending is intriguing, as Cassia begins her search for the truth of what is truly going on in the Society and leaves behind the City that she has known her entire life. The mysterious ending of this story and the excerpt from the sequel (Crossed - narrated by both Cassia & Ky) kept me interested enough that I will continue to read the series. Future reviews to come.